In the front hall, six or seven ghostly figures stood silently, while on the left side, two pale-faced living people sat—the man and woman from the Huajian Caiyun Sect and the Goddess Sect.
The man’s breathing was slightly laboured, his breath tinged with a faint metallic rust, likely from an injury. The woman showed no obvious signs, though her face was pale, her eyes glimmering with restrained divine light, as if she were scheming.
Seeing the puppet Lu Zheng escorted in, the man’s face flashed with resentment, while the woman gave a slight smile.
Pressed into the first seat on the right side of the hall, the two ghosts behind the puppet stepped back, standing quietly in place.
The man turned to the puppet, rolling his eyes and snorting coldly. “A bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites. I didn’t dig up your ancestors’ graves, yet you’re so eager to hunt me down. Happy now?”
The puppet Lu Zheng glanced at him sideways, saying nothing, merely surveying the surroundings before looking toward the back hall with probing eyes.
“What are you looking at? This place is its own formation, controlled by at least a ghost king with over three hundred years of cultivation,” the man said coldly. “When it comes out, it’ll drain your yang qi first.”
“Not necessarily,” the puppet Lu Zheng shrugged, glancing at the woman. “What if this ghost king has a taste for beauty?”
The woman’s eyes flickered charmingly, her voice soft and coy. “If so, this little lady’s life might be spared for now. Don’t worry, I’ll plead for you all.”
At that moment, footsteps echoed from outside the courtyard. The three turned to see two ghosts escorting Yan Hongxia inside.
“Huh?” Yan Hongxia paused, surprised to see Lu Zheng there.
“Hee hee, just waiting for you!” the woman giggled. “As expected of a Dengyun Mountain disciple, truly impressive.”
Yan Hongxia raised an eyebrow, nodded at the puppet Lu Zheng, and was then pressed into the second seat on the right side of the hall.
The puppet looked at Yan Hongxia, noting her pale complexion and weak aura, and asked, “You alright?”
“I’m fine. Didn’t expect these ghosts to have some tricks!” Yan Hongxia shot a glare at the ghosts in the hall.
“Some tricks? We’re all prisoners now, our lives in their hands,” the man said, scanning the three coldly. “Yet you’re all so calm. Have you all made peace with death?”
The woman pouted pitifully. “What else can we do? The formation is strong, the spells powerful. Since we can’t resist, we might as well see what the master of this place wants.”
The puppet Lu Zheng glanced at Yan Hongxia, who gave a subtle signal with her eyes before saying angrily, “I’d like to see if this ghost dares kill me. If I die, let’s see if Dengyun Mountain flattens this place!”
The puppet blinked, then mused, “Since they haven’t killed us outright, they must have some purpose, right?”
“Swish!”
A soft sound, and a figure in black suddenly appeared in the main seat of the hall.
The figure wore lavish gold-embroidered black robes, adorned with images of corpse mountains and blood seas. Long black hair cascaded over their shoulders, a square face with straight brows, middle-aged in appearance, with pale skin, pure black eyes, and grey-white lips.
The ghost appeared out of nowhere, as if it had been sitting there all along.
“Greetings, Ghost King!” the woman curtsied gracefully, her voice dripping with charm.
“Ghost King! We’re from the southern border, not aligned with the Great Jing Dynasty,” the man hurriedly explained. “We can cooperate.”
Yan Hongxia stared at the ghost’s hands, then raised her gaze. “Who are you?”
The puppet Lu Zheng also glanced at the ghost king’s hands, noticing it was toying with a bronze mirror. The mirror didn’t reflect the surroundings but showed the entire front hall.
Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered, realising the source of his earlier sense of being watched.
Looking up at the ghost king, the puppet bowed. “Greetings, Ghost King. My friend and I were pursuing these two southern border cultivators who’ve been killing in the Great Jing Dynasty. We entered your manor by mistake. Please forgive any offence! Your manor is built in such a remote place, surely to avoid disturbance and focus on quiet cultivation. So, perhaps…”
Lu Zheng blinked. “Perhaps you could let us go? We’ll settle our grudges elsewhere and won’t disturb you.”
The ghost king glanced at the man, then the woman, and finally at Yan Hongxia and Lu Zheng.
“Heh heh…”
A faint, pale smile curved its lips. “I built my manor here to live in seclusion and cultivate quietly, avoiding trouble. Yet you barge in. How should I deal with this?”
“Hm?” Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered.
The ghost king’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion. “I’ve always craved the yang qi of the living, but to avoid trouble, I’ve restrained myself, not daring to stay in the netherworld, hiding instead in this remote mortal place. After ten years of endurance, I’m on the verge of success, but you’ve stormed my manor, disturbing my peace and delaying my achievement by three months. You say, let you go?”
The ghost king looked at Lu Zheng, a hint of amusement on its face.
“Ghost King, Ghost King! These two are cultivators from the Great Jing Dynasty, from orthodox sects. If you let them go, they’ll surely return with reinforcements,” the man said urgently. “You could clean them up and have a feast! I’m from the southern border’s Huajian Caiyun Sect. If you don’t mind, I can lure mortal women for you to enjoy and harvest their yang qi.”
“If the Ghost King prefers men with stronger yang qi, I can help too,” the woman added with a smile, glancing at Yan Hongxia and Lu Zheng. “These two are perfect for you to indulge in today.”
“Shameless!” Yan Hongxia snapped, then looked at the ghost king. “Aren’t you worried these two are scheming, coveting your treasures, plotting against you?”
The man retorted, “We’re completely subdued by the Ghost King, powerless to scheme. How could we plot against him?”
“Exactly. Our cultivation is shallow, no match for the Ghost King’s methods. But you, with your flawless sword core, are you really sealed by his spells?” the woman said pointedly.
The man nodded eagerly, continuing to the ghost king, “We stumbled into your manor by chance, a sign of fate for cooperation!”
“Heh heh!”
The ghost king nodded, then suddenly reached out. A surge of suction pulled a figure from the seat, and in an instant, it was in his grasp, neck gripped tightly.
“Ghost… Ghost King, sir?” the man asked, shocked. “Why… why me?”
By any measure, he shouldn’t be the first to die!
“You were the first to step into my manor!”
The ghost king sneered, and with a surge of ghostly qi, the man’s yang qi was rapidly drained.
